Kagerou Circus
by Musical2day
Summary: The pierrot, ghost girl, nature-duo, snake charmer, juggler, an aerial scarf performer, a girl trapped in a virtual body, and a stilt walker all joined together to form a circus. When a boy walks in, he sees their patchwork family and discovers a hidden secret of theirs.
1. Welcome to the Kagerou Circus!

"Hey, hey! This is your beloved ringmaster, Ene!"

The audience clapped loudly and stomped their feet in excitement. A blue-haired girl flickered into view on a huge screen, her peculiar markings glinting in the stage lights. "Our beginning act will be presented by Kano, the notorious pierrot!"

A blond figure walked in, smiling and waving at the crowd. "Hi~!" He shielded his face with the white and black mask and proceeded to the middle of the stage. "My first act will be balancing on a ball, alright?" he called to the audience and snapped his fingers.

At the signal, a huge black and white ball was tossed into the ring. Kano walked over and proceeded to climb on top of it with the help of a metal pole. Once he reached the top, he carelessly tossed it aside. A yelp of pain sounded from somewhere offstage, but nobody heard it except Kano. He grinned slightly.

Now, he was performing small tricks while balancing on the ball. "Any requests?" he hollered.

"Do the Irish jig!" a little girl with a pink balloon shouted.

"Okay~!" Kano replied cheerfully. Folding his arms, he balanced on one leg, then began to alternate legs every couple of seconds. Just a few heartbeats later, he lost his momentum and fell flat on the ground. The crowd gasped.

"Oops, I screwed up..." he said cheerfully, scratching his head and dusting off his costume. He hadn't taken much damage, and the audience laughed again at his little flop, still thoroughly enjoying themselves.

That was what a pierrot was, after all. The fool who always had the bad end of the stick. The fool who always falls to the ground for the sake of others' enjoyment.

His final smile at the audience might have been a little bitter, but no one could see it under the blinding stage lights.

* * *

"Next, we have the ghost girl, Kido!" Ene once again yelled from the giant screen, but her voice was drowned out by the cheering.

A green haired girl appeared behind the velvet curtain, watching Kano make his exit. "Don't you dare chuck that pole at my head again," she muttered as he walked past.

Kano chuckled, "No promises, Tsu-bo-mi!" and waved excitedly as she entered the ring.

Growling under her breath, Kido approached the center.

"Hello. I will pull a disappearing act and vanish before your eyes," she said monotonously, as if she had repeated this statement many times.

She probably had.

Kido raised a hand, and a puff of smoke erupted from beneath her. The spotlights shut off. Everyone's eyes were focused on where the mini-explosion had happened.

"Up here."

The audience nearly jumped out of their seats. "There!" someone shouted.

The spotlights illuminated where Kido was standing - a platform where circus members could perform aerial tricks*. Whispers broke out immediately. "How'd she get up there?" "She's psychic, I'm telling you." Or the more common reaction: "What?"

Another smoke cloud arose, and this time, the lights shut off simultaneously. They flickered back on mere seconds later, but Kido had already disappeared.

"I'm over here, now," she said, standing at the opposite platform from where she originally stood. Once again, attention was refocused on her; excited chatter arose.

"Thank you for your attention," Kido bowed briefly before turning to leave, away from the stage lights and the cheerings of the crowd, as usual.

Mission complete.

* * *

"How'd you folks enjoy that act?" Ene's voice filled the air, immediately drowned out by the excited cheering. "By the sound of that, I would say a lot! Now, give it up for Seto and Mary, the nature-loving duo!"

"Nice job!" Seto praised Kido as he walked past her.

"Good work, Kido-san!" Mary added, trying her best to match Seto's pace.

"Thanks," Kido mumbled before hurrying off.

Seto and Mary entered the ring, followed by deers, birds, and all sorts of woodland creatures. It was almost like Snow White in real life. No, scratch that - it was Snow White in real life, except better. "How are you doing today, everyone?" he asked. "I hope you're all doing well!"

"Would you like some flowers to brighten up your day?" Mary continued from where he left off, and waved her hand. Pink and yellow flowers floated down from the ceiling, as if it were raining flower petals. The sweet-smelling scent of blossoms filled the air. The children in the audience were delighted, rushing about to catch the 'prettiest flower', and even the adults were smiling at them.

Suddenly, Mary nodded her head. The deer started circling the two; so did the bunnies, to everyone's surprise. Birds fluttered about and perched on the deers' antlers. It was an entertaining sight that drew cooes from women and even curious glances from the men.

Seto, who had remained still the entire time, now pulled himself onto the largest buck. He reached out his hand to let Mary join the ride and they paraded around the entire ring. The lucky people who were in the first row actually got to touch the animals, provided they didn't poke too much.

Ene's face flashed onto the screen, "Okay, guys, time for a small break! At this time, you can get snacks or let your children ride on the deer! We'll be back in thirty minutes!" Instantly, almost all the children rushed toward the animals.

"Oh, and one more thing." Noticing this, he twin-tailed girl spoke up again. "Remember to walk in an orderly fashion! You don't want to scare the animals, do you?"

Immediately, the children slowed down, but were fidgeting the entire walk. Seto and Mary started to head backstage; however, a young couple stopped them. "Will the animals be alright without you two?" the woman asked them nervously.

Mary smiled reassuringly, "They'll be fine. If you're worried about the deer running amok, that won't happen. They are very gentle creatures."

"Thank you, it has been a marvelous show so far." The couple nodded and left. The kids were now taking turns on mounting the deer. Those who were waiting for their turn petted the rabbits and let the birds perch on their arms.

It was truly a joyful sight to behold.

* * *

"Ah, it's finally break~!" Kano sighed, rocking back and forth on his chair. Kido smacked his arm.

"You were on in the beginning, you had plenty of time to rest!"

Kano pouted. "But it's not a break without Tsubomi!"

"Shut up! Don't call me Tsubomi either! It's Kido! Ki-do."

"You two bicker like a married couple, has anyone told you that?" a teen in a red jersey dryly told them. Without a word, Kido disappeared.

"Don't do that!" the pierrot reminded her, poking the space where the green-haired girl had been seconds ago. She reappeared.

"Damn all of you," Kido grumbled. "Especially you, Kano."

"That's not nice!" Kano took the moment to place a hand over his chest, feigning hurt.

"Now, now. Get along, you two." Ayano walked in the break room, her familiar red scarf wrapped around her shoulders.

"But Nee-chan, Tsubomi's being mean to me~"

"Am not!"

"Seriously, married couple," Shintaro muttered.

"SHUT UP!"

At this moment, Seto and Mary entered the room. "Hello, guys!" Seto greeted his group of friends.

"If anyone in this circus are like a married couple, it would be them," Kano said, pointing at the said 'couple'. They both flushed a deep red.

"W-what?" Mary squeaked.

"Go call the fire department and tell them it was a false alarm," Shintaro deadpanned, then raised his soda to take a sip.

"Shintaro! Be nice!"

"Tch." He clicked his tongue.

"Is my brother causing trouble again?" An orange-haired girl had arrived, bringing a boy with her. Dragging would be a more accurate term, actually.

"Hello, Momo. Yes, your brother is being unnecessarily annoying, and who is that boy…?" Kido questioned curiously.

"This is Hibiya, and he got separated from his parents," Momo announced. Hibiya kept his head down the whole time, tugging nervously at the white vest buckled over his blue t-shirt.

"Who are your parents?" Ayano asked kindly.

The brunette shook his head. "...don't have any."

"Eh? Then why did you say that you got sep-"

"Because I don't know where I am. Now, go away, hag."

"What did you just call me?" Momo narrowed her eyes dangerously.

The brunette shrugged.

"You brat, I shouldn't even have brought you here!"

"So, why did you come here?" Kano asked the boy, deciding to ignore his name-calling. That was some foul language for a kid, though.

"There were a lot of people, so I thought someone could help me."

"Wait, but you need money to pay for the tickets…?"

"I snuck in."

Silence blanketed the air. Kano broke it, his laughter filling the room. "I like you! You have guts to say that to the members of the circus! Ow!" That last part was because Kido had just slammed her fist into Kano's gut. "Why'd you just punch me, Tsubomi? You're so mean~"

"Mary, could you please freeze him?" Kido deadpanned.

"Sure!"

"Hey, what do you mean by fre-why are her eyes turning red!? Is it some kind of special effects or something? Hey, why isn't he moving at all?"

As Hibiya just asked (or rather, cried out in alarm), Mary's eyes had flashed red. Kano had abruptly stopped rubbing his stomach from the pain (It was odd how his expression didn't change, Hibiya thought), and his mouth had frozen in an O. Everyone looked on as if someone freezing another person was a daily occurrence.

"Oops!" Mary said sheepishly, "I forgot that boy was there!"

The door slammed open and a white-haired male stumbled in, his arms filled with snacks. Pink eyes blinked lazily. "Did I miss something?"

"...You guys are completely off your rockers."

* * *

***Aerial tricks are basically tricks that are above ground.**

**** I took this from the fanfiction, "Rima Can't Spell."**


	2. A Confused Boy

_"Hey, what do you mean by fre-why are her eyes turning red!? Is it some kind of special effects or something? Hey, why isn't he moving at all?"_

_As Hibiya just asked (or rather, cried out in alarm), Mary's eyes had flashed red. Kano had abruptly stopped rubbing his stomach from the pain (It was odd how his expression didn't change, Hibiya thought), and his mouth had frozen in an O. Everyone looked on as if someone freezing another person was a daily occurrence._

_"Oops!" Mary said sheepishly, "I forgot that boy was there!"_

_The door slammed open and a white-haired male stumbled in, his arms filled with snacks. Pink eyes blinked lazily. "Did I miss something?"_

_"...You guys are completely off your rockers."_

* * *

All eyes were focused on the boy who had just entered. "Why are you guys all staring at me?" Pause. "Oh, I get it. You want some negima, right?"

"Konoha, now is not the time." Kido sighed.

"W-w-what's going on? I'm so confused, this is weird, is this a freakish dream? Why is this happening to me?" Hibiya kept on rambling, incoherent words tumbling out of his mouth until he collapsed from the information overload.

"Okay, guys! Time to get back out ther- Um, someone care to explain why there's a boy on the floor?" The ringmaster, a.k.a. Ene, had popped up on Shintaro's phone, only to be greeted by the sight of an unconscious Hibiya. She didn't say anything about Kano, however.

There was a heartbeat of silence. "J-just saying, you got five minutes to get readyandnowbye!" The cyber girl vanished in a flash of light.

Kano unfroze and looked around. "Heyo~!"

"Screw you, you're the reason we're in this mess." Kido told him bluntly.

"You're the one who told Mary to freeze me," he defended. "It wasn't my fault!"

"Guys, we only have five minutes!" Momo panicked.

"Seto, Mary, take care of him. You won't have to go on for a while and frankly, you're the only two that I trust in this situation," the green-haired girl ordered. "Now the rest of you, scram!"

Momo, Ayano, and Shintaro rushed off. Konoha remained standing, watching Kido expectantly.

"Konoha, just leave your food on the table and go!" Momo came back and dragged him off by the wrist.

"But my food…!"

* * *

"Hi! Hope you weren't waiting too long, because we're going to jump right back into our performances! Momo the snake charmer will now amaze you with her singing, and Konoha will help out with a few tricks as well!"

Momo was at the center of the circus ring. Konoha placed a basket in front of her.

"As some of you might know, usually snake charming is done by a special kind of flute. However, I'm able to do it with my voice!" Momo stated proudly.

"... Negima?" Konoha asked absentmindedly. Thankfully, the crowd didn't hear his peculiar statement.

"Moving on! I'll begin by singing 'Otsukimi Recital!"*

_"That's it! I'm done failing every time."_

_And holding back the tears you won't cry_

_"Hey but don't give up!" and empty words like that would_

_Never be enough to_

_"Try and look ahead, tomorrow is brighter, I know!_

_So smile in the daze and let go!"_

_Pulling you away_

_Though I maybe pulled a bit too hard_

_Matching the sky, blue you below_

_And now I'm kinda scared maybe you'll freeze that way_

_Your teary eyes blew me away_

_"I'm always shaking deep inside…I really can't, I've tried!"_

_Because it's you, I just know you'll make it through_

_Look ahead, do all you can do_

_If you've gone and you've given your all_

_Just know you're not alone, I'll be here for you_

_Throw away your "rather than stay…"_

_It won't do a thing for you and "Hey"_

_"Maybe I might tag along!"_

_Let's go and turn the page to break the lonely days_

By the end of the song, the lid of the basket had fallen off, revealing a black snake with white markings. Everyone 'ooed' at the snake - which was currently wrapping itself around Momo's feet.

"Is it my turn now?" a voice called from the other side of the ring. It was Konoha, propped several feet above the arena in stilts (he had gotten them situated while the girl was singing), and was currently eating negima.

"Come here, Kuroha!" Instantly, the snake slithered at lightning speed toward the white-haired boy. As soon as it reached him, it leapt and coiled itself around the stilts. "Good boy," Konoha cooed. "You get some negima for your award!" Surprisingly, the snake ate the meaty treat.

'Did he feed Kuroha negima when we first bought him?' Momo wondered.

"Thank you for watching!" Momo waved wildly at the crowd as she exited. A few seconds later, she reappeared and pulled Konoha and the snake with her. Everyone applauded for their successful act.

* * *

"I bet you liked that one!" Ene said, smiling. "Shintaro will start to juggle some soda cans for your entertainment! Although, you can throw whatever at him as long as it's not bigger than your head," she added as an afterthought.

"That has got to be the oddest introduction ever. Why me?" Shintaro grumbled. He then proceeded to take out three cans of soda and started juggling. After a little while, a boy threw a tangerine at him.

"Livi!" The boy's parents were shocked. They were even more surprised when Shintaro began juggling the citrus fruit as well. Soon, all the kids were throwing small object towards the juggling teen.

Ten minutes later, the items everyone threw at him were listed on the screen: three soda cans, a tangerine, a tomato, a shoe, a watch, a wallet, (Shintaro would take the money later, he could buy a new keyboard), and four pieces of candy. He threw the items into a red bin behind him with a proud smirk and nodded curtly before going on his merry way.

* * *

"Our final presentation will be Ayano's aerial scarf show! I hope you enjoyed the show so far and didn't regret buying that ten dollar ticket!" Ene's face flickered off the screen.

The lights dimmed, and the spotlights shone on Ayano, who was standing at the platform above the ground. Red scarves were wrapped around her body. She leapt off the platform and began her descent to the floor. Ayano started to twirl in midair, catching the eyes of the audience with her glittering red uniform. As the tip of her toe reached the ground, she added a little spin, displaying all the scarves wrapped around her body. Ayano waved to the cheering crowd and glided out the door.

* * *

"Let everyone who performed in this circus give our kind audience a bow!" Ene called, pumping a fist in the virtual air. They filed out to the circus ring in order: Kano, Kido, Seto, Mary, Momo, Konoha, Shintaro, and Ayano. "Such a pity I can't be out there with them…" The cyber girl pouted, receiving a few chuckles.

Clasping hands, they all bowed deeply. "Thank you for watching Kagerou Circus!"

* * *

***Lyrics by JubyPhonic**


	3. A New Member of the Family

_"Let everyone who performed in this circus give our kind audience a bow!" Ene called, pumping a fist in the virtual air. They filed out to the circus ring in order: Kano, Kido, Seto, Mary, Momo, Konoha, Shintaro, and Ayano. "Such a pity I can't be out there with them…" The cyber girl pouted, receiving a few chuckles._

_Clasping their hands, they all bowed deeply. "Thank you for watching Kagerou Circus!"_

* * *

They were all back at the resting room, where Hibiya was just beginning to regain consciousness. "Ugh, my head hurts," he grumbled.

"I thought you would never wake up! How are you feeling?" Seto asked him. Hibiya stared at him in disbelief.

"Did you not hear what I just said? My freaking head hurts!" Seto backed away quickly as if Hibiya was going to bite him.

"Geez, didn't know boys had PMS," Kano snickered, before getting hit in the head.

"They don't, you dumbass. Now shut up."

"Wait, what happened? That white-haired girl's eyes turned red and he," Hibiya pointed at Kano, "just froze!"

"Eheh!" Mary giggled sheepishly*.

"Well, it's a long story." Kido said.

"Well, I don't care! I want to know what's going on!" Hibiya yelled.

"By the way," Momo interrupted, "What's your full name?"

"Hag, that was completely off-topic. It's Amamiya Hibiya."

"You brat…!"

"In a nutshell," Kido interrupted, "We have powers that relate to our eyes. They activate when you come close to dying on a certain day."

"What day?"

"August 15." As soon as those words came out of her mouth, the brown-haired boy froze.

"But, that's the day when…"

"When?" Shintaro prompted.

"…when Hiyori died."

* * *

_Two years ago~_

"Hiyori, let's go to the carnival! I heard that there was a circus!" A ten-year old Hibiya was practically begging a girl in pigtails. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

The girl, Hiyori sighed, "When is it?"

"Tomorrow! Look, it says August 15th on the ticket!"

"Alright," she sighed. "But you better pay for the food!"

"Okay!"

* * *

_August 15~_

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our circus, the Cold Freeze!" a ringmaster was shouting at the crowd.

"I bet this is going to be boring," Hiyori muttered under her breath.

"No, I swear, it'll be fun!"

"This coming from the boy who makes creepy dolls of me?"

"U-um, I didn't make it! It was at a store and it looked like you so-"

"Whatever."

"Our first act will be aerial tricks and we will ask for two volunteers!" Two spotlights spun around the circus tent, before finally resting on… "You, boy and girl near the front! Come on up!"

"Wait, us?!" Hibiya screeched in shock.

"Yes, now stop your screaming and get up there!" Hiyori grabbed him by the arm and pulled him with her to the center of the ring.

"What're your names?"

"H-hibya!"

"Hiyori."

"Alright then, Hibiya and Hiyori. Hold on to the bars as tightly as you can! Don't worry, if you fall there's a net underneath." Hibiya gulped.

"Alright."

"Geez, you're such a scaredy-cat." Hiyori said, grabbing a bar.

"Am not!"

Once he got a firm grip, the bar started to rise. He willed himself not to scream as not to embarrass himself in front of more than three-hundred people. Soon, the both of them were more than halfway up the tent! "Hibiya, I think I'm going to fall!" Hiyori's voice came across Hibiya's ears.

"It's okay, there's a net, remember?"

"But, what if it doesn't hold me?" At that moment, Hiyori's hands unclasped the bar and was sent hurtling to the ground. Screams ripped out of her vocal chords. Then, silence.

"H-hiyori?" Hibiya risked a glance down. Her body was a mess. Blood was trailing down her head, her limbs were tangled with the net. "HIYORI!" he yelled, terrified.

"Young man, stay up there! We'll send someone to help!" the ringmaster shouted up at him. The audience was leaving, children wailing and many were puking on the ground. Someone climbed up to one of the platforms in the air and pulled the bar towards him. "You alright?" he asked. He was greeted with the sight of a boy trembling, eyes wide.

"Hiyori… She's still alive, right? The wound isn't that bad, it just seems that way because of the blood. She'll be fine, she'll be fine, she won't leave me!" Hibiya clutched his head and sank to the ground. "Everything will be fine. It's just an illusion!"

Later, it turned out that the net was placed too low on the ground, therefore when Hiyori fell, she hit the ground while on the net. Hiyori had been falling at high speed, so it was an instant death.

The circus's reputation had been severely impacted by the incident. Shortly afterward, it disbanded because of the lack of people coming to watch their shows. However, Hibiya would never forget the circus that took Hiyori's life away.

* * *

_Back to the present~_

The members of the circus were silent. Not even Kano said anything. It was clear by Hibiya's face that he was still traumatized by the disaster. Quietly, Momo bended down and wrapped her arms around the boy. He soon started to bawl his eyes out, sobs breaking the silence. "I-it was m-my fault! I should have n-never taken her to the c-circus!"

"It's not your fault," Kido said, "The sooner you realize that, the sooner you'll get over it." The girl in the purple hoodie was answered by even more wails of despair. Apparently, her words weren't very encouraging.

"I think everyone except Momo should leave. I don't think that the rest of us are helping." Mary said in an unusually firm that statement, she went out the door. "Momo, we'll meet you in the van." All the members except the snake-charmer filed out the door and into a silver van.

Slowly, Momo began to hum the tune of 'Otsukimi Recital'**. Soon, the humming turned into words.

_Because it's mocking us, this painful small world_

_Stabbing holes with fangs, you crumble_

_"I just wanted to be by your side!"_

_It's like something in your heart, curled up and it died_

_Even if you never hear these words_

_And batted them all away just know_

_That you can always rely!_

_"I want to help you through, oh please, I beg of you!"_

_"It's you, I just know you'll get through!"_

_Shout them out, the words you want to_

_"Saying things like 'It's over, I can't'_

_Are silly if you want, you will meet again!"_

_Breathe a gulp of air and take it in_

_To face the moon so far away_

_Shaking but standing your ground,_

_"I guess it's worth a shot,"_

_And then I stopped_

_"He might be not, as uncool as I thought"_

During the song, Hibiya's sobs had quieted in order to hear the words better. "Feeling better?" He stiffly nodded his head. He couldn't deny that it made him feel a little better. The self-hatred was still there, lurking around in the depths of his heart. But for now, this will do.

"Thanks, Oba-san."

"Anytime!" Momo chirped, letting the 'oba-san' slide. "Come on, they're waiting for us in the van!"

"But I'm not part of the circus!"

"That's true," Momo gave him a look. "But you're part of our family, now!"

* * *

***If Mary was an animal, she definitely be a sheep**

****Lyrics by JubyPhonic**


	4. A Car Ride Full of Explanations

_During the song, Hibiya's sobs had quieted in order to hear the words better. "Feeling better?" He stiffly nodded his head. "Thanks, Oba-san." "Anytime!" Momo chirped, letting the 'oba-san' slide. "Come on, they're waiting for us in the van!" "But I'm not part of the circus!" "That's true," Momo gave him a look._

"_But you're part of our family, now!"_

* * *

Currently, the circus family was riding in the silver van. Ene was driving, well, because she can manipulate it. She is a virus, after all. And the van was a hybrid. ("It cost a lot of money!" Shintaro whined, "We could've bought more soda!")

"So, Hibiya," He was currently residing on Momo's lap as there were only seven seats. Ene obviously didn't need one, therefore it wasn't a problem before. (He hated to admit it, but he felt most comfortable with the orange-haired girl,) "Where did you come from?" It was Seto who asked this question. "Somewhere." "Eh? Where is this 'somewhere'?" Konoha asked. "Hold on, I'll search it up!" Ene exclaimed. "Ene-chan, keep on driving. The last time you did that, we almost got into a car crash!" Ayano exclaimed. She was fixing Shintaro's jersey. He had worn it so much that a hole had appeared. "I want to leave it behind, okay?" Hibiya said.

The circus understood, they've all have come from tough situations. They weren't very pleasant, so it was understandable he didn't want to talk about it. "Where are we going anyway?" Hibiya asked. They have been on the road for about an hour. "Home," the digital girl replied, "It's actually not too far away compared to other times. We _are_ a traveling circus, even though we like to stay in the same general area for our shows." "Ah," he nodded. "So you guys get to see different things?" "Yup, pretty much," Kano said, grinning.

"We actually probably should train Hibiya to do something in the circus, though." Kido said thoughtfully. "Do you know if you have an eye ability? That could help with deciding in what to do." "Eye ability…?" "You know how mine is the Staring Eyes ability; I can freeze people for a while?" Mary asked. "And I can disappear as long as no one touches me; Concealing Eyes." Kido added. "What about the rest of you?" Hibiya questioned.

"I'll list them off, okay?" Mary said, "Seto has the Stealing Eyes ability, he can hear the thoughts of others, and-" "So he can basically read minds?" "Yes, but I don't like using it very much." Seto confessed, "People don't have the nicest things in their mind."

"Continuing on, Kano has the Deceiving Eyes ability; he can deceive you into thinking that he's doing something while he's actually doing something else. Momo-chan has the Captivating Eyes, she draws attention to herself."

"Ene has a bit of a tricky ability. She has the Opening Eyes ability. Basically-" "Basically, I'm immortal as long as I'm a cyber being. Looks like I'm not going to get out of here anytime soon!" Ene laughed, but a bit of bitterness was heard. "I was a human before, you know." "Really? So how did you end up like that?" "Experiments on me by scientists. I also nearly died by my illness, but nothing can kill me while I'm a digital being." "Don't worry; we'll like you even if you're not human!" Konoha said cheerfully. "Eheh, thanks!" she slightly blushed.

Mary cleared her throat. "Can I continue?" "Sorry." "Ayano has Favorite Eyes, she can project her feelings to others." "IT'S THE POWER OF CARING!" Ayano yelled, striking a pose. "Shintaro has the power to remember pretty much everything. Including his past lives and what not."

"Finally, Konoha has Awakening Eyes, he used to be a boy named Haruka who had a problem with his heart. He made another body for himself, but that made Konoha forget his life as Haruka. He also has abnormal strength. Yeah, that's pretty much it!" Mary clapped. "So, any questions?" Hibiya raised his hand. "Yes?" "What's mine?" "Hmm, that's a good question. I guess we'll find out sooner or later!

* * *

"We're here!" Ene cheered. "Finally, my legs were growing numb," Momo said, stretching her arms out. "Well, welcome to home sweet home!" Ayano twirled and skipped towards the house. Shintaro's eye twitched. "Skipping?" he thought.

The house was a two story house. "The bedrooms are on the second floor," Kido explained, "The kitchen and the living room is on the first. We also have a basement to put some extra equipment."

"Tsubomi!" Kano waved, "Let's go in the pool! We can have a party outdoors for a successful performance!" "Good idea, Shuu-chan!" "'Tsubomi'? 'Shuu-chan'?" Hibiya asked, "Who are they?" Seto walked next to the curious boy, "Tsubomi is Kido, and Shuu-chan is short for 'Shuuya'. Kido, Kano, and Seto are our last names." "Ah."

"Alright," Kido was saying, "I'll start up the barbecue." Kano frowned. "But, Tsubomi! You always cook, let someone else do it and _have fun!_" "I like cooking!" Kido protested. Kano took Kido's hand and began pulling her into the house. "Be right back!" he chirped. "Let go! Get your hands off me!" Her complaints grew softer as they drifted farther away from the group. "Can we have negima?" said Konoha. "Where did you come from?" "The car."

* * *

"That idiot Kano! I said I could do the cooking, but no, I need to have 'fun'! Who says I don't like cooking for the rest of the family?" Kido muttered angrily under her breath. "Talking about me, Tsubomi? Well, I'm flattered!" "Gah!" Kido leapt back in surprise. There, in all his glory, was Kano.

"You little piece of-!" "Tsk, tsk, naughty girl. Don't swear!" "Go die." "But really, Kido," Kano's face grew serious, "You have to enjoy yourself and stop being such a mother hen!" Kido flinched, and then held a wounded expression, "Oh, so I'm being a mother hen? I guess it's a crime to care about others! Fine! I won't be a 'mother hen'. Take care of yourself!" With that, Kido stomped away. Kano sighed. "Ah, guess I made her mad again."

* * *

"Seto! I can't get out!" Mary whined. Her long, thick hair was dragging her down and she couldn't get up because of the weight. "Mary, I told you to tie your hair so this wouldn't happen. This is what happened last time we went in the pool." Seto said. He knelt down by the rim of the pool and helped the girl up. "Thanks!" she beamed. Two seconds later, she fell flat on her face. "Ow!"

"Shintaro, you should swim!" Ayano was nagging the boy who was currently on his laptop under an umbrella. "But I'll get sunburnt! I have super sensitive skin, the sunscreen won't help!" "It won't kill you to have a little sunburn!" "Ayano, look at this," Ene popped up on the laptop screen, "These are pictures of Shintaro sunburnt~!" Taking a quick glance at the screen, she recoiled in shock. "Wow, that is pretty bad," Ayano murmured.

"But you can still talk!" "Okay, I have a good conversation starter," Shintaro said dryly, "Why are you wearing your scarf?" Indeed, a red scarf was around the brown-haired girl's neck. "Red is the color of a hero! A hero never rests to stop crime!" "Okay, then. Why don't you fix the tension around those two?" Shintaro nodded towards Kido and Kano. Kido was currently at the rim of the pool, feet swishing around. She also had her earbuds on, which were blocking out Kano's apologizing.

* * *

"Kido, I'm sorry! I know you can hear me through the music." Kido just looked the other way and moved a few inches away from the deceiver. "Alright, let's do this!" Quickly pulling out the earbuds from the girl and taking away the iPod, he grinned. "Now will you talk?" "Give it back!" Her arms flailed wildly for her beloved music. Letting out a huff of air, Kano muttered, "Guess I got to take more drastic measures." Suddenly, he scooped up the unsuspecting Kido. "W-what? No! Let me down! _Let me down!" _"Not until we talk, Tsu-bo-mi~!"

Everyone who was still residing in the pool stared after them. "Intimate couple," Hibiya commented. "B-but they're not a couple…" Momo said. Hibiya glanced over at her. "They sure act like one, though."

"K-kano, put me down already!" "Nope~! If I do, you'll run away." Kido sighed. "Fine, I'll talk without running away." "Or disappearing?" Kano prompted. "Or disappearing." Suddenly, Kano dropped her. "Ow!"

"Tsubomi, will you forgive me for acting like a little shit?" "Yes, I forgive you for acting like a little shit." He grinned. "You know, you have to hug to truly make up." "Oh, no," Kido backed away, "That is _not _going to happen." She disappeared. However, Kano jumped on her the second she had done so. "Yay~! We're all happy!" "Yeah, yeah. Now get off me!"

* * *

**Currently working on their circus uniforms. I'm not the best drawer, but you should get a decent idea on how they look like. My deviantart username is Musical2day, so look me up! **** I probably won't finish until a little while afterwards, though. I realize that the apologizing scene was a bit short, but oh well. Reason why I'm updating so quickly: a) I don't have internet at my house so it's the perfect time killer b) I like this story's plot**

**Deleted Scene**

"So… Will you make barbecue?" Kano asked. "No." "Eh? Why not?" "Because not only do you _act _like a little shit, you also _are _a little shit." Kido replied blankly.


	5. A Day Full of Fun

"_Tsubomi, will you forgive me for acting like a little shit?" "Yes, I forgive you for acting like a little shit." He grinned. "You know, you have to hug to truly make up." "Oh, no," Kido backed away, "That is not going to happen." She disappeared. However, Kano jumped on her the second she had done so. "Yay~! We're all happy!" "Yeah, yeah. Now get off me!"_

* * *

The pool party was over and the tension between two certain people was resolved. Needless to say, they were all quite exhausted. "Well, goodnight everyone!" Ayano yawned before stumbling off to her room. "Hibiya, follow me. We have an extra room." Momo waved him over. "How many bedrooms does this house have?" Hibiya asked in awe. The snake charmer paused. "Oh, ten or so? Come on, I'm really tired." Without a word, the two padded upstairs. Shortly after, the rest of them also proceeded up the stairs. Sleep enveloped their minds like a warm embrace.

* * *

"Hey, guys! Get up and pumpin'!" A voice echoed throughout the entire house. Many jolted out of their beds in shock. After years of living together, they still couldn't get used to it. "Ahh!" Hibiya screamed, "WHAT THE HECK?!" "Good morning, Hibiya!" Ayano greeted him as he made his way to the living room. "Breakfast will be ready in a while," Kido added. They were apparently in charge of cooking.

"Is there going to be waffles~?" Kano asked. "Sure, Shuu-chan!" "Don't spoil him too much, Nee-chan." "But Kido, I'm hungry!" "So? You don't have to eat waffles."

"It's too early to be up," a voice complained. It was Shintaro, he had dark bags underneath his eyes. "Then maybe you shouldn't have played video games the entire night!" Ene retorted. "I should've never installed the loudspeakers…" he grumbled.

"…Food?" "Yes, Konoha, food. Don't ravage the fridge like last time." "But I'm hungry…!" "Just eat your negima, I know you have a hidden stash of them." "Mhmm," the boy was already munching on the oh-so-delicious negima.

"Kido, throw me a banana?" called Momo. Two seconds later, a blurry yellow shape whizzed through the air. It hit her forehead. "Ow!" "Sorry," Kido said, not sounding very sorry at all.

"It's okay, Momo, Tsubomi just has a very violent nature." "Do not!" "She also is a tsundere. Kukuku, let's all call her Tsunbomi~!" Another object cut through the air at a very high speed. It lodged itself to the wall near Kano's ear. Creaking his head slowly, he discovered a knife. "Do _not _call me that." "Yes ma'am!"

"Everybody's so lively in the morning!" Mary walked into the room. "Hey, where's Seto?" Hibiya questioned. "He works at a flower shop in the morning. He should come back soon." Mary responded. "Mary, you sounded like an old woman. 'Everybody's so lively in the morning!'" Kano mocked, his voice going unnecessarily high towards the end.

"I _am _a hundred-forty years old, you know!" she pouted. Mary raised her head. Her pink eyes flashed red. "Kukuku-" His snickering was cut short. "Not again!" "Welcome back, Seto. Breakfast is almost ready." Kido greeted. Konoha perked up. "Food?" "Yes, food." Ayano said kindly, "Just wait ten more minutes."

"Mary is a hundred-forty?" Hibiya asked incredulously. "Eheh, I'm a fourth medusa." "Okay." By this point, nothing surprised him anymore.

"Breakfast's ready!" Ayano chirped. "Finally," Shintaro grumbled. In the dining room, there were waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon. The ideal breakfast, but Ayano and Kido made it seem like the greatest food of all time. "This looks great! Thank you for the meal!" Seto exclaimed. He began to grab the syrup and spread it over the waffle. "Thank you for the meal." The rest of them chorused.

Chatter filled the table as they ate, ("Mary, guess what? On the way back home, I found a herd of deer!" "Really?") When Hibiya looked around the table, it almost seemed like a regular family. 'Which is funny, he thought, because all this 'eye business' is definitely not normal.' "Ah, these waffles are good!" Konoha's words were muffled because he was stuffing waffles in his face. "Konoha, don't talk while you eat!" Ayano scolded. "But it's good!"

Suddenly, Kido hit Kano. "Hey, what was that for?" he complained angrily. "Your eyes are red. Don't take more than five waffles, you idiot!" "But you let Konoha take six!" "That's because he'll make us go out for groceries again if we don't feed him now!" "Che," Kano pouted.

"Oba-san, aren't you going to eat?" Hibiya said. Momo's plate was empty. "Ah, I already ate. AND DON'T CALL ME THAT!" "Momo just has a freakish habit of eating quickly," Shintaro informed him. "Well, I can't help it, Onii-chan!" Hibiya made a mental note that Momo and Shintaro were siblings.

"Ahh! Snake!" Hibiya screeched, running away to the safety of the living room. "That's just Kuroha." Konoha said, "He likes to join us for meals." Slowly, the boy walked back to his seat. "This place is seriously messed up, isn't it?" "Yup~!" Kano agreed happily.

* * *

"What should we do today?" Seto asked. "Well, we won't have another show for a couple of days, so we could just sit back and relax!" Ene said. She was flipping through a digital calendar on Shintaro's phone.

"Why do you always use my phone?" Shintaro said. Ene paused, then shrugged. "I like it here! Besides, you're the only one who actually uses their phone other than just calling people. _*cough*_Mary_*cough*." _"But isn't that what a phone is for?" she protested. "Mary, Mary, _Mary. _You do not know the wonders of technology. You see, there are these things called apps. They enhance your boring life and- Seto! Why are you blocking her ears?!" Seto winced. "Sorry, but I don't need Mary to become a phone addict." "Meanie," Ene disappeared from the screen. "Finally," Shintaro sighed. The nature-loving boy removed his hands from Mary's ears. "What happened?" she asked innocently. "Oh, nothing. Just talking about the weather." He lied. Kano snickered. "Can't deceive the deceiver," he sang. "OW! Tsubomi, stop hitting me! OW!" "Stop calling me Tsubomi! It's Kido!" "Okay, okay, just stop hitting me!"

"We could go to the carnival!" Konoha suggested. Everyone stared at him blankly. "You asked what we should do, remember?" "I think I'll stay home," Hibiya gulped. Momo rolled her eyes, "Relax! We aren't going to the circus or anything." "Alright, then…" "We leave in thirty minutes," Kido said.

* * *

"Woo~! Look at all the people!" Kano cheered. "It's hot," Kido murmured. Hibiya sent her a glance. "Take off your hoodie, then. It is common sense to not wear stuff like that in the middle of summer." She removed the hoodie. "What the- why are you wearing a turtleneck under that! No wonder you're hot!" Hibiya exclaimed. She let out a huff of air. "I just like this outfit, okay?"

"What do you guys want to do first?" Seto asked. The rest of the group pondered over the options. "Let's check out the booths!" Momo said enthusiastically. The group wandered over toward the carnival booths. They talked amongst themselves as they walked. Abruptly, Momo stopped. Hibiya promptly crashed into her back. "What was that for, Oba-san?!" he groaned, rubbing his head. "We're here!" she explained. "And don't call me that! I'm sixteen years old!" "Yeah, you're an Oba-san." "Shut up!"

"Wah! Look at the cute animals!" Mary cried. In a shooting booth, there were stuffed animals hanging all over it. "I guess they're the prizes," Shintaro said. After he said that, he sighed. "Can we go home now? It's hot…" "Stop complaining, Onii-chan. You shouldn't stay cooped up in your room playing video games. It's not healthy!" "It's not healthy to get sunburnt either." He grumbled.

"Look what Seto got me!" Mary skipped over. In her arms was a plush of a sheep. "Ah, it's so cute!" Momo squealed. "Right?" The medusa beamed. "Seto is such a sucker for her, kukuku." Kano said under his breath. "I actually agree with you on that," Kido muttered back. "I can tell what you're thinking!" Seto said indignantly. Kano just flapped his hand at the boy. "You can't change the truth!" "I wish I could play the shooting booth." Ene said wistfully. "Ene likes shooting games?" Konoha asked. "Yeah, I used to play them a lot."

"Here!" Konoha shoved a triceratops at her. "You can have it!" "Eh? B-but I can't take it!" The cyber girl was flustered, shaking her head about, "Besides, it's a triceratops! Don't you love them?" He shook his head. "But I love Ene more!" he proclaimed. 'Shameless,' Hibiya thought. "E-eh? Um, you can put it next to the screen when we get home." she squeaked. The screen blacked out. Momo clicked her tongue. "The pressure was too much for her, huh?"

* * *

**Cute KonoEne moment? I like to think so. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! If there's an error somewhere in this chapter, don't be afraid to tell moi~ I'll continue the circus day in the next chapter, I think. I finished the rough sketch of the uniforms. I've got to work on the final copy, now. Also, if anybody needs a beta reader, you know who to call! Me~! (This sounds like GhostBusters for some reason, but oh well.)**


	6. Oddly Named Horses

_"__Here!" Konoha shoved a triceratops at her. "You can have it!" "Eh? B-but I can't take it!" The cyber girl was flustered, shaking her head about, "Besides, it's a triceratops! Don't you love them?" He shook his head. "But I love Ene more!" he proclaimed. 'Shameless,' Hibiya thought. "E-eh? Um, you can put it next to the screen when we get home." she squeaked. The screen blacked out. Momo clicked her tongue. "The pressure was too much for her, huh?"_

* * *

"Look!" Momo wildly waved at an old mansion, "A haunted house! Let's go in it!" "A-ah, Kisaragi, I'll buy us refreshments." Kido backed away. Suddenly, Kano grabbed her arm. "Nope~! You're coming with us! Or are you _scared?_" "O-of course I'm not. What are you waiting for! I l-love haunted houses!" She stepped toward the door, but the shaking of her legs was evident. "Tsubomi's a tsundere~!" the deceiver grinned, then immediately got punched in the face. "And violent," he muttered.

"I think I'll sit out. Anybody want to join me?" Seto offered. Mary padded over by his side. "I'll stay, too." "Yeah, this isn't my thing." Shintaro added. Ayano sighed. "I guess I'll join you guys."

"So only Kano, Kido, Konoha, Momo, and Hibiya are going?" Ayano inquired. "And me!" Ene sang. "And Ene," she nodded her head. "Alright, have fun!" Kano nudged Kido. "Hear that? Have fun!" "Shut up."

When they finally drew close to the front, a helper walked up to them. "You'll need to be in pairs of two," he informed them. "Does she count as a partner?" Konoha lifted up his yellow iPhone. The helper glanced oddly at the cyber girl. "I'm sorry, apps don't count." "I'm real, you dumbass!" Ene said indignantly. "Okay, if you say so,"

"Kido's going to pair up with me, right?" He clasped his hand around the green-haired girl. "This is going to be the best day of my life." Kido deadpanned. "That's the spirit!"

"I'm stuck with Oba-san then?" Momo started to mess up his hair. "Don't do that!" "Fine." The three pairs had finally approached the entrance. Kido gulped silently, 'I'm so regretting this,' she thought.

* * *

_Konoha and Ene_

"Wow, this is really well made!" Ene commented. They were at a part where mummified heads were hanging on the ceiling. Creepy gold eyes were staring at them. (The eyes reminded her of Kano) "You think?" Konoha asked, scratching his head. "It's not really scary, though. It's more of a weird walk-through museum." At that moment, a scream filled the air. "Eek!" Ene cried, flinching. "It was probably just the other people in this house." Konoha said. "Maybe it was Kido?" "Heh, it probably was."

* * *

_Kano and Kido_

Kido breathed in heavily. "Jeez, relax! It's just a vine!" Kano waved around the said vine. "No need to scream!" She glared at him. "Shut up." "Tsunbomi~!" A deadly aura was felt. "What did you say, Kano?" "Uh, tsunami! I heard there was a tsunami nearby!" Kano panicked. Nobody wanted to tease an angry Kido. "That's what I thought."

* * *

_Hibiya and Momo_

"Oba-san, why aren't you scared? I thought all girls hated this kind of stuff?" "If I hated it, would I have suggested it?" "…"

"Hibiya, look!" Momo pointed in front of them. There was a black cat standing in their way. Hibiya's eyes widened.

_Blood dripping everywhere and a black cat on the other side of the street. The traffic light beating a shade of red red__** red.**_

"You okay?" A hand waved in front of his face. "You were spacing out." "It's nothing. Let's just get out of this stupid place." "It's not stupid!"

* * *

_Kano and Kido_

"Where's the exit?" Kido complained. She had put back on her iPod hoodie a while ago. Kano clucked disapprovingly. "Now, now. Be patient!" "You're the last person who should be talking to me about patience…" Kido muttered grumpily. "Oh, see there! It's a light!" Kano gestured towards it. "That's probably the exit, let's go!" She dashed towards it, not noticing a certain cat-eyed boy in the way.

_Bam_

"Ow… Why is the floor so soft?" "Kido, I'm not the floor." a soft voice said from beneath her. She slowly looked down. "Ahh!" Kano was sprawled on the floor and Kido was on top of him. Kido tumbled off as fast as she could. She disappeared from his vision. "Kido, don't disappear! It's going to be a devil's work to try and find you in this darkness." No answer. "Guess she already left." Kano murmured.

* * *

_Hibiya and Momo_

"That's it, I guess," Hibiya mumbled as they stepped through the exit. "Geez, you guys took forever!" Kano exclaimed. The rest of the group that went into the haunted house was milling around. "Well, Oba-san wanted to look at every single thing there was, so…" "It was fascinating!" Momo noticed a person missing. "Where'd Konoha go?" "Oh, some hotdog eating contest." Ene replied. "Ayano and the others said they would meet us near the carousel."

"How was the haunted house?" Ayano asked. Kano beamed, "It was fun!" "It was a waste of time." Kido contradicted. "Anyway, do you want to go on the carousel?" She pointed towards the machine. "I'll ride," Konoha agreed. He had smudges of mustard near the corners of his mouth. "Sounds fun~!" Kano said. "I bet Seto and Mary are going too, right?" "Yeah!" Mary smiled. "What about the rest of our merry little group?" Ene asked. "It'll be a shame to miss out this bonding moment, _right?"_

"Sure." Kido really didn't seem to care. "Hibiya and I are going too!" "Hey, who said I was going?!" "Don't be a sourpuss." Ayano turned around to look at Shintaro. "You're going too, right?" "No." "If I'm going, you are too!" The girl grabbed his arm in a vice-grip and marched toward the line. "Hurry up so we can get on the same turn!" she called.

* * *

"Alright, climb aboard!" The person managing the ride shouted through a megaphone. "Screw you." Shintaro groused. "I'll take the carriage." Momo sighed. "Onii-chan, that's the most boring one! Get on a horse!" "No." Momo plopped herself on an orange horse. Inscribed on the saddles read the names. "Marigold," she read. "That's a pretty name."

Hibiya had gotten on a blue horse. 'Are there actually blue horses in the wild?' he wondered briefly. The name of the horse was Pebble. "Wonderful, I have a horse named Pebble. Will its name be 'Boulder' when it grows up?"

Kido and Kano had pulled themselves up to a green and black horse respectively. "Mines Ivy," Kido inspected the saddle. "Really? Mine is Checkers!" "Who comes up with these names, anyway?" The ride manager sneezed. "I must be getting famous if people are talking about me!" he beamed. "They're marveling at the wonderfulness of my horses' names!" **(A/N: Yeah, not so much) **

"Ooh, a red horse! And his name is Hero! I must have this horse!" Ayano yelled. She gathered strange glances from the other participants in the carousel. However, she ignored them as she thought up ways she could sneak the horse out of here.

"Yellow…" Konoha hoisted himself up. "Firefly? But it's a horse…" "Don't worry, people think of the strangest names," Ene reassured. Since she obviously couldn't get on by herself, she had tagged along in the albino's phone.

Seto had taken a green horse, ('Weed?' he thought, 'Not a very flattering name') and Mary, a pink one. "Seto, her name is Bubblegum!" Mary said. "Ahah, is it? Maybe the horse is made out of bubblegum- Don't try to eat it, Mary!"

"The ride will start in five seconds!" The manager spoke. "It's starting!" Mary squealed. "Don't fall off your horse, Hibiya." "Don't break the horse under your weight, Oba-san," Hibiya retorted. "Why you!"

The horses went circling around the pole in the middle. "Woo~!" Kano yelled, throwing his hands up. Leaning from her horse, Kido smacked him. "You idiot, don't do that!" "Eh? But Tsubomi isn't holding onto the pole, either!" Kano replied. "That's because I'm not moving about like a moron!"

"Um, Konoha?" Ene timidly said. "Yes?" "You're holding on the pole too hard." Indeed, it was twisted beyond belief and compressed into a flat surface. "Ah." "…We're going to have to pay for damages again, aren't we?"

"Shintaro, what are you doing?" Ayano asked. Shintaro was residing in the carriage. He was currently leaning over to look at the side. "What the hell? Why is a carriage named 'Otto'?"

* * *

"Wasn't that fun?" Kano asked. Kido just grunted. "I had lots of fun!" Mary chirped. She held the plush sheep in her arms tightly. Ayano smiled. "I'm glad everyone's happy!"

_And so the sun sets, on a day fun and new~ Ayano's Theory of Happiness_

* * *

**Thanks for pointing out that Chapter 5 has taken over Chapter 4, Kaname. I fixed it five minutes before I published this chapter. If it shows up that the error is still there, wait 30 min or so. Thanks for reading, everybody!**


	7. Throwing Knives

"_Wasn't that fun?" Kano asked. Kido just grunted. "I had lots of fun!" Mary chirped. She held the plush sheep in her arms tightly. Ayano smiled. "I'm glad everyone's happy!"_

_**And so the sun sets, on a day fun and new~ Ayano's Theory of Happiness**_

* * *

"Hibiya, you should really think about practicing an act," Kido said. He blinked. Sure, they brought up this topic before but he hadn't taken it too seriously. "Try using your eyes." "How do you do that?" he asked. "Simple. Just imagine a black snake." "Excuse me?" "A black snake," she repeated.

Hibiya closed his eyes and tried to think of a black snake. Unfortunately, he had never _seen_ a snake that was colored black. He opened his eyes. "Um, I can't visualize one because I've never seen one," he said. Kido pondered. "Think about Kuroha~! You know, the one in our circus!" Kano piped up. "Just remove the white markings." "You actually thought up of a good idea!" Kido said incredulously. Kano pouted. "I have good ideas!" "Yeah, almost never," Kido muttered.

Hibiya closed his eyes and imagined Kuroha. Sure, he had seen the snake only once, but he had photographic memory. Dimly, he was aware of a burning sensation in his eyes. "You're doing it!" Kano gleefully said. "Now, open your eyes and tell us what's different." Kido instructed.

Opening his eyes, Hibiya nearly stopped breathing. Everything was clearer. He could see out the window and spot every single marking on a robin. "I-I can see really well!" "Really?" Mary trotted in the room, balancing tea on a tray. "Ah!" The medusa tripped over her own feet and sent the beverage flying in the air. Hibiya could see the reflection of his face in every droplet until…

_Splash_

He was soaked to the bone with tea. "It burns!" Hibiya cried. Tears were forming at the corners of his no longer red eyes. "What's going on?!" Momo rushed in. "Did you spill tea, again?" "Y-yes…" "Hibiya, go take a cold bath." "Okay- ow!" he hissed. Every movement Hibiya made was followed by stinging. He stumbled upstairs hurriedly.

Momo rounded on Mary. "Mary, what did I say about being careful?" she scolded. "I'm sorry!" she whimpered. "Geez. You spilled tea on me and killed my phone too, remember?" In the background, the white-haired girl could hear the stifled laughter of Kano. "Kano, shut up. You know what happened last time." Immediately, he stopped.

"I'm sorry," Mary repeated. Momo sighed. "Oh well, what's done is done. Why don't you go get some paper towels?" She scurried off into the kitchen. A ripping sound was heard. Mary returned and immediately began scrubbing the floor furiously.

Hibiya descended down the stairs, his hair still damp. "Are you okay?" Momo asked. "I'll live," he mumbled. "I'm so sorry, Hibiya!" Mary squeaked. "It's fine."

"Are you sure?" Kido cut in, "You can go rest if you want." "It's okay!" he said louder. "If you say so," Momo said. "I'll be going, now!" She trotted back to her room. "I-I'll go, too." Mary followed the snake charmer. "Wait a second, Mary," Kido ordered. "Yes!"

* * *

"So? What's my eye ability?" Hibiya asked impatiently. "Mary?" Kido turned toward the girl. "I think your ability is 'Focusing Eyes'. It's basically when you can see objects from far away. You could also call it clairvoyance, in a way." she replied. "That's pretty cool," he said in awe. Just to think, a couple of weeks ago Hibiya thought he was average.

"Using that knowledge, you can choose on what kind of act you want to put on." "He could make people raise up small objects and identify what they are? Like, if it was a credit card he could read off the numbers," Ene suggested. She had popped up from Kido's iPod.

"That could work as a side-act, but as the main one? I'm not too sure." Kido responded. "Knife-throwing?" Ene tried again. "That's not a bad idea," Hibiya said thoughtfully. "Why don't you try?" Kido said, "We can use the training room. I'm sure we have a few dart boards lying around somewhere."

* * *

"_Woah_," Seto breathed in awe. They were crowding around Hibiya who was currently throwing knives. Every knife had hit its mark. "So, knife-throwing it is." Kido observed. "Good job." That remark had filled Hibiya's heart up with pride. Therefore, he did the most obvious thing anyone would do.

He smiled.

* * *

"Guys~!" Ene's body filled the TV screen that Shintaro was lazily flipping channels through. "I scheduled us a show next week!" "We can show off Hibiya, then!" Momo said. The said boy was on her lap playing the synthesizer. ("I want to be an idol, one day!" Momo had told him. "Want to help me compose songs?) The blue-haired girl blinked. "Since when could you play?" she asked. "My parents made me take lessons." "Ah."

"That's so awesome!" Ayano exclaimed. "Hey, could you play something for me?" Hibiya raised an eyebrow. "Pfft, you fail at doing that," Momo laughed. "Shut up, Oba-san." "Hey!"

"Wait a second," Ayano ran upstairs and came back down after a minute. "Here!" 'Ayano's Theory of Happiness' was the title written on the first page. "Did you compose it?" Hibiya questioned. "Yes, everybody has their own song. Some decide not to share it, though." Ayano sent a fleeting glance at Kido, Kano, and Shintaro. "What." Kido said blandly. "Oh, nothing~" she replied airily.

"I'm not that good, though," Hibiya said. "Oh," Ayano visibly saddened. He sweatdropped. 'She must really want to hear it', he thought.

Sighing, he placed his fingers on the keys. Ayano's eyes slowly brightened. She closed her eyes, slightly swaying to the melody.

* * *

When it was over, Ayano glomped Hibiya. The 'oof' was ignored. (Hibiya was still sitting on Momo, which made the hug a little awkward.) "Thank you so much!" She profusely thanked him while bowing over and over again. "It's fine," he said, rubbing that back of his head. "You know what," Momo said, "You should make your own song, too!" Hibiya blanched. "What?" "If Konoha can do it, surely you can!" "Why Konoha?" "Well, he's not really talented in music," Momo replied.

"Maybe," Hibiya jumped off her lap. "I'm going to my room, don't bother me!" he called, already halfway up the stairs.

"Momo has Hibiya wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" Shintaro said. "Yup~!" Kano responded cheerfully.

* * *

**I actually had this saved for a while, just got too lazy on uploading it. Yeah. I was too busy a) listening to JubyPhonic's awesome music b) reading other fanfictions c) looking for KagePro anthologies/doujinshi. KanoKido FTW**


	8. Hamburger Land, Here They Come!

"_Maybe," Hibiya jumped off her lap. "I'm going to my room, don't bother me!" he called, already halfway up the stairs._

"_Momo has Hibiya wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" Shintaro said. "Yup~!" Kano responded cheerfully._

* * *

"I'm bored!" Ene whined. "Then find something to do," Shintaro replied lazily. He was currently on the couch, typing something rapidly on his laptop. **(A/N: Like me, I'm impressed on how fast I can type, seeing as how I cheated in Typing 101 by looking at the home row) **"But I did _everything!"_ she emphasized. "Clearly not everything, since you're still bored." He retorted. Ene sighed. "I'll look at the details for the show again," Grumbling, she moved her cyber self to the computer.

"Let's see… Be there by noon, show starts at six, meet at New York, okay. Huh? Where's that?" Ene stopped scrolling to scratch her head. "Where's New York?" she popped up on Shintaro's phone. "Gah! Give me a warning before you do that!" "Yeah, yeah. Where's New York?" Ene repeated. "Why do you want to know? It's in the U.S." She paled.

"U-um, I'm just going to leave now." Ene wavered before shakily moving out of his phone. "Wait, what the heck is wrong with you?" Shintaro questioned curiously. "Nothing!" she said in a high-pitched voice. "Suspicious," Kano peered over the soda-addict's shoulder. "Exactly," Shintaro agreed, not showing any surprise. "And that's saying something since it's from the deceiver." Kido added in.

By now, all the members of the circus were crowding around the phone. Ene was sweating bullets. They had all been drawn in because Ene was _never _nervous. "Why are you white as a ghost?" Hibiya noted the pale complexion of the girl. "I just didn't get out in the sun for a while!" she explained. "You're a cyber-girl." Seto pointed out.

"Just spit it out," Kido said. "I-I may or may not have booked a show in America!" Ene finally spilled. Immediately, she hid behind her blue jersey. "WHAT?!" The whole room burst with exclamations of shock. "Are you kidding me?" burst out Hibiya. "N-no." Ene meekly replied. "We're going to Hamburger Land~!" Kano yelled. He got smacked by Kido. "We are not!"

"Ene, tell them there was a misunderstanding!" Kido frantically told her. "We can't, there are no refunds." she said quietly.

Silence.

"Is this really happening?" the green-haired girl looked up at the ceiling wearily. "Hamburger Land~!" Kano cheered again. He keeled over when Kido kicked him in the stomach. "I-I'm going to die…"

* * *

"Do you think we'll need pajamas?" Mary wondered out loud. "Probably," Momo responded. Everyone was currently packing for their trip. "How'd Ene even think that New York wasn't part of Japan?" she muttered. "Wait, doesn't that mean that she'll have to speak English? No, she's a virtual girl. She can just search up this stuff on the Internet." "Oi, Momo." "Yes?" "Do you know where my iPod went?" Kido asked. "I was sure it was in my pocket…" "Did you check under the couch?" Momo suggested. "Ah, no." Kido walked out the door.

"Ayano, how are you doing in packing…? Why are there ten scarves in your suitcase?" "Ah, these are just in case something happens to the scarf I always wear!" Ayano beamed. "Then you only need one! Not ten!" "Really?" Slowly, she took five out. Then paused. "I can't do it! I need ten!"

* * *

"Hibiya, did you take my negima? My extra pack vanished…" Konoha asked. Hibiya merely scoffed. "You mean the pack you ate earlier?" "Oh, so it went in my stomach." '_Is he for real?' _Hibiya thought. "Kano, can you buy me more?" "Nope, I'm busy, you see." "Ah." "Busy with what, exactly?" he grumbled under his breath. "Packing, of course! With your ability, I thought you would see that much. Actually, anyone could see that!" "Tch."

* * *

It was the next morning and everyone was hauling their luggage to the trunk. "Are we going to be able to fit all this?" Seto honestly didn't think that ten suitcases weren't going to fit in the trunk. "We'll make it work, somehow!" Ene said. "It better work, since this is all your fault!" Shintaro growled. "Come on, you got to get out of Japan sometimes!" "It was enough getting out of the house to perform!" "You'll turn into a NEET again, Onii-chan." "Oh, he wasn't already?" "He's getting out at least once a month?" "Why does that sound more like a question than an answer!"

These were the kind of conversations that took place as they attempted to shove their suitcases into the trunk. Finally, they slammed the trunk closed to prevent their belongings spilling out onto the floor, thus repeating the process all over again.

Ene was once again controlling the car. As not to freak people out by a vehicle moving on its own, Shintaro sat in the driver's seat, hands on the wheel. (There was a time where Ene rolled around on the streets by herself, but that's another story.) Ayano was humming cheerfully in the passenger's seat. The three seats behind them were occupied by Kido, Seto, and Kano. The rest of them were piled in the back, Hibiya on top of Momo as usual. Said boy was currently talking somewhat civilly to Konoha. Mary was telling Momo about something that had happened to her recently.

"Once we get there, let's pig out on food~!" Kano cheered. "We're not going to America to have fun," Kido reminded him. Kano pouted. "Kido, it's not bad to have a little fun," Seto said gently. "You can think of it as a vacation. After all, we're going to be there for a week." "We are?" Apparently, Mary was not told of this arrangement. "Our flight back to Japan is six days after our performance." Shintaro informed the clueless medusa. "Oh."

* * *

"We're here." Konoha said blankly. "Haru-Konoha, you should sound more excited!" Ene stumbled over his name, before continuing on. "Like this; Yay!" "Yay?" Konoha repeated, but with much less enthusiasm. "No, with more energy! One more time!" "Yay." "Well, at least it doesn't sound like a question…" Ene muttered, clearly disappointed.

"Let's get in line," Kido gestured toward the line. "It's so long," Mary said in awe. "That's what she said," Kano snickered, before promptly getting punched in the face. "Ma'am, you're not allowed to hit other people in the airport." A woman in a uniform informed them. "B-but!" "Tsubomi got owned~!" "Shut up!"

"Do kids twelve and under have a less expensive ticket?" Momo asked absent-mindedly. "Who knows. All I know is that we don't have to pay for the tickets. That's nice to know, because that would have taken a lot of money." Ayano responded. "Wait, does Ene even need a ticket?" Hibiya asked. "That's a good question," Momo looked over to the said girl. "Hey, do you need a ticket?" "Nope~! They won't know I'm here, anyway!" "But you are here," Konoha said. "I don't get it?" "Well, you see," Ene began rambling off to the white-haired boy. "So noisy," Shintaro mumbled.

* * *

Everyone was slumped in their seats. They've been waiting for two hours for their flight. "Why did we get here so early?" Mary asked. She was on the verge of falling asleep. "Because _someone _decided to wake us up at five in the morning!" Shintaro sent a pointed glare to Ene. She began whistling innocently.

Kido was in a deep slumber on Kano's shoulder. The deceiver didn't move, either because she would hit him if he did, or because he was secretly enjoying it. Momo was poking fun at Hibiya. He would yawn every few minutes. "Oh? Does little Hibiya need a nap?" she cooed mockingly. "This coming from a cow?" he retorted. "I swear, if we weren't at the airport, I would…" she trailed off, as an attendant was next to her. Hibiya smirked. "What's with that nasty little grin, huh?!" She began pulling at his cheeks. "Ow! Stop it, Oba-san!" "Stop calling me Oba-san! I'm only sixteen!"

"Seriously, why is everyone so noisy?" Shintaro once again groused. "Hm? Did you say something?" Ayano blinked her eyes at him. "Nothing."

* * *

**So, I finished the picture of Ayano. It didn't turn out too bad, but it wasn't expert work either, if you know what I mean. If you want to see it, my Instagram account is angelart205. (There aren't any selfies on it yet, so I really don't care. It's just an art account I made recently, soooo…) I'm probably going to change the name again and again and again and again; well, you get the point. BTW, AUGUST 15****TH**** IS NEARING. I have a feeling that there are going to be some hardcore fans that are going to try and jump off a building. What? Just saying. *cough*ortherearegoingtobepeoplerushingtothemallandgettingredscarves*cough* **


	9. A Past to Remember

"_Seriously, why is everyone so noisy?" Shintaro once again groused. "Hm? Did you say something?" Ayano blinked her eyes at him. "Nothing."_

* * *

"When will we get off the plane?" Mary asked Seto. "In ten hours?" Seto said hesitantly. "Why are planes so slow?! With all those fancy technology thingies, they should at least be able to make travel in air faster!" Kano complained loudly. "Shh! People are sleeping!" Kido scolded him. "So?" "So, you need to be quiet!" "You're no fun."

"Mary, can you pass me the purple marker?" Momo was sitting behind Mary. Mary and Momo were drawing. However, Momo's canvas wasn't paper. "There! That looks better!" She was drawing on Hibiya's face. "That's childish." Shintaro said blankly. "No, it's not! It's just a harmless way of having fun!" she protested. The group was receiving strange looks. Momo sheepishly waved. "Hi?"

"You're so loud, Oba-san," Hibiya awoke from his slumber. "Why does my face itch? You didn't draw on my face, did you?" Momo looked away. "Nope! Didn't do a thing! What are- hey, why are you rubbing your face with a wipe!" "Because I don't want people looking at me like a total weirdo, why else?" he said in a 'well, duh' tone. Momo simply scowled.

"I'll save the day!" Ayano suddenly yelled. Everybody on the plane flinched in their chairs. Even the ones sleeping seemed disturbed. "Uh, Ayano?" Shintaro slowly poked her shoulder. She was still sleeping. "Wait, she was sleep-talking?" the almost NEET said in disbelief. "What kind of dreams do Ayano have?" "Ones about justice," Kido answered vaguely. "I'm going to sleep."

* * *

"At this point, you should just tape a pillow to your shoulder, Kano." Shintaro deadpanned. "Wouldn't that be uncomfortable?" Konoha piped in. "It's a pillow, why would it be uncomfortable?" he retorted. Kano looked nervous. "Can you be quieter? I don't want Kido to murder me." He whispered the last part as if scared that Kido would suddenly wake up and hit him.

The reason for this conversation was because shortly after Kido took a nap, her head rested on the blond again. "But seriously. Why does she like your shoulder so much? That was the second time in-" Here, Shintaro checked his watch, "Three hours." "Kido did that when we were little too," Kano mumbled. Unfortunately, this caught Hibiya's attention. "Since you were little?" "Kido and I knew each other when we were young, yeah. I thought you knew?" "How would I know if you never told me?" "Read my mind?" "Uh, that's Seto's thing."

"Well, we have a bit less than ten hours to kill, so I'll tell you guys a story~!" "Wah! I'm excited!" Mary said.

"Shush, kiddies~! Let Kano tell the story!" "Kiddies? I'm older than you, do you realize that?" "Oh hush, Shintaro."

"So shall we get this started? Well, I met Kido first. Back then, she let me refer to her as Tsubomi without violence."

* * *

Shuuya was running. He didn't know where his destination was, he just wanted to get out of the stuffy house. Shuuya's mother was at work, so he had the whole morning and evening to himself.

It was kind of lonely.

Oh, are you wondering about his mother? His mother was the nicest person ever; she let Shuuya hug her all the time. Before she left for work, she would always make him a meal that would be delicious, sometimes a handwritten note was left behind. Yup, no doubt about it. Shuuya's mother was the best.

Panting, Shuuya stopped sprinting. His legs were sore, he must've gone at least a mile. **(A/N: My legs wouldn't be just sore, they would ache as if they were broken.) **He had stopped at the park. He trudged toward the swing set so he could rest for a while.

"Hey." "Eek!" a shriek that Shuuya was ashamed to call his own came out of his mouth. On the swing next to him was a girl with green hair. 'Green hair is pretty unusual,' Shuuya thought. "Sorry! I didn't see you there!" he chuckled nervously. "No one ever does," the girl muttered. He tilted his head. "I didn't hear you, what did you say?" "Nothing."

They swung on the swings in silence. Soon, it became a competition to who could swing higher. "I'm totally swinging higher!" Shuuya proclaimed. The girl scoffed. "As if, it's obvious that I am!" "Nu-uh!" he stuck his tongue out childishly.

"Fine! Let's jump and see who is farther away from the swing!" he said. "But-" "Are you scared?" Shuuya taunted. The girl, _(he should really ask her name, he thought.) _stiffened. "Of course not!" She was lying, no lies could escape him. "Then, there shouldn't be a problem!"

"Ready? One, two, three!" Shuuya leaped off the seat. He looked back and noticed that the girl was still on the swing. "Come on! It's easy!" "A-are you sure?" she looked uncharacteristically timid. Squeezing her charcoal eyes, she jumped off. She opened her eyes. "I did it!" the girl exclaimed enthusiastically.

"By the way, I'm Kano Shuuya," Shuuya introduced himself. "What's your name?" "Kido Tsubomi." "Kido? Why does that seem familiar?" he wondered. "I'm rich." The newly dubbed Tsubomi said in a glum tone. "Really? That's cool, why do you seem sad about it? I would love to be rich~!" he chattered. "It's none of your business." she turned away from him. "Don't you have to go? It's getting dark."

The sun was setting, it's golden hue shining on the faces of the children. "I didn't realize it was getting so late!" Shuuya said. "See you tomorrow!" He waved to Tsubomi. "Tomorrow?" "Yeah, I'll be here tomorrow, too! Are you?" "I-I guess." "Alright, then. Bye!" With that, the cat-eyed boy jogged off. "I better start to go home, too. It'll give my family a bad reputation if I stay out late." Tsubomi started dragging her feet to go home.

* * *

"Where were you, you were so late!" Shuuya's mother slapped him across his cheek. "I'm sorry, Mom." She sighed. "I guess it's okay if you didn't mean it," she muttered. "Go to sleep." "But dinner-" "Now!" she screamed, throwing a briefcase at him. "Goodnight," Shuuya said. _She didn't mean it,_ he told himself. His mother was just punishing him so he wouldn't do it again. She would hug Shuuya like usual tomorrow, as long as he kept up a smile.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Tsubomi spoke up. They were at the park again. She lightly touched the bruise forming on Shuuya's cheek. He laughed it off. "It's fine, I was just a little clumsy." "Hmm," she hummed, not really believing him. "No, honestly! It's the truth!" Shuuya protested. 'Really?' a voice in the back of his brain mocked him. He brushed it aside.

"Whatever. Just take care of it, okay?" "Why, I didn't know you cared!" "Shush, you." "Kukuku~!"

* * *

"What's your family like?" Tsubomi suddenly asked him. It had been a week since they had met. "Huh? My mom's awesome, although she's a little strict. She gives good hugs!" Shuuya said proudly. "That must be nice," Tsubomi said almost wistfully.

"What about yours? All you said about your family is that they're rich! Come on, tell me!" Shuuya nagged. "They hate me." she replied blandly. "O-oh," he was taken back. He wasn't expecting that. "That can't be true, parents are required to love their children!" Shuuya reasoned. "They love my sister, but they don't even want to look at me," Tsubomi said. "Hey, why are you smiling?"

"Well, aren't we like family?" "W-what?" she sputtered. "I only knew you for a week!" "We can be… members of the same club!" "What kind of club?" Tsubomi was curious about this strange proposition. "The-the Mekakushi Dan!"* "That sounds pretty cool." "Well, of course! I always have the best ideas!"

"Since Tsubomi is rich, she can be number one! I'll be number three since it's my favorite number." "What about number two?" "I'm sure we'll find someone else to join!" Shuuya beamed happily. Tsubomi returned the grin with a small smile of her own.

* * *

"Girl, where have you been?" her father raged at her. "I-I've been at the park," she murmured almost inaudibly. "The park?! That poor excuse of a building? What would people think if they saw you there?!" "I'm sorry," "Sorry doesn't cut it!"

"Now, now, father. Our reputation wouldn't be harmed by this," Tsubomi's sister walked in. Her red hair was swept up in a ponytail. "They would think that we have a very healthy girl. See, it might even increase our reputation." Her father calmed down. "As always, you have a valid point, Hana."** "Why can't you be more like her, girl?" Tsubomi flinched. "Tsubomi, could you help me with something?" Hana asked her. "S-sure."

Tsubomi was led away to her sister's bedroom. "I'm so sorry this is happening to you." Hana said sadly. "I know our father is unreasonable, but can't he even call you by your name, Tsubomi?" "It's okay, I'm used to it." "Children your age shouldn't be used to this!" her sister fumed. "So, you've been going to the park? Good, it should relieve a bit of your stress. What do you do there?"

"I-I," Tsubomi was unsure as whether to or not to tell Hana about Shuuya. She then decided that her sister was always trustworthy. "I've been playing with a boy." she finished. "His name?" "Shuuya." "Well, I hope that he treats you well!"

"But, there's something worrying me." she confessed. Hana raised an eyebrow. Tsubomi took this as a signal to continue on. "He's been getting these bruises. I don't really think it's Shuuya being clumsy anymore." "Why don't you ask him to tell you the truth?" "I do! But he keeps on saying it's not a lie!" "Keep on asking, I have a feeling he'll crack soon. He is a child, after all."

* * *

"Shuuya, why do you keep getting injuries?" Tsubomi bluntly said. It was three days after the talk with Hana. "I told you, I'm clumsy! Do you have a short memory span?" he started chuckling after his own little joke. "I don't believe you." "Don't you trust me, Tsubomi?"

"Tell me the truth!" Tsubomi demanded. Shuuya paled. _'I don't think it's normal for mothers to hit their children, I can't let Mom get in trouble!'_ he thought rapidly. He sighed and raised up his hands. "I may or may not have gone mountain climbing without Mom's permission," he lied smoothly.

She scowled furiously. "Shuuya Kano!" The said boy could almost hear his smile cracking. "Honest!" Shuuya said. "Honest isn't a word in your dictionary, now spill!"

Now, he was almost trembling. "I'm not hiding anything!" Shuuya's voice went unnaturally high. "Why won't you believe me?" Tsubomi sighed. "Shuuya, I'm worried." she explained gently.

Tears began to prick the corner of his golden eyes. When was the last time anyone had said that to him? Or even mentioned that they cared? At last, the mask broke apart.

"It's okay," Tsubomi whispered. "She-she would h-hit me sometimes," Shuuya hiccupped. "But she w-would always hug m-me afterwards, s-so it's okay, right? Everyone h-has their m-mistakes, b-besides, s-she makes me f-food in the morning e-even if she didn't let m-me eat lunch or dinner!" he kept on rambling on and on, words flowing out of his mouth.

"Shuuya," she said firmly, "A mother shouldn't do that." "A mother shouldn't hate her daughter, either!" Shuuya fired back. Tsubomi recoiled a bit, before tightening the embrace. "Yeah. They shouldn't."

Time ticking by, the two cried their hearts off in the sunset. A shadow was seen behind a tree. "She finally found someone she could trust, huh?" The figure turned away and walked briskly off across a street. A single red hair got snagged on a tree and hung from a branch limply.

* * *

***I'm not going to make it so they were adopted by Ayano, just a little twist on the story**

****Hana means flower. Since Tsubomi was a flower bud, it kind of fits.**

**Wow, I wrote over 2,000 words in one chapter. I don't believe that ever happened. Yay me~! Don't forget to check out Ayano on my Instagram account, angelart205. By the way, can you guess who was the person at the end? If you didn't, welp, read this chapter again. KEEP ON READING UNTIL YOU GET IT. Well then, toodles!**


	10. A Chance Encounter?

_Time ticking by, the two cried their hearts off in the sunset. A shadow was seen behind a tree. "She finally found someone she could trust, huh?" The figure turned away and walked briskly off across a street. A single red hair got snagged on a tree and hung from a branch limply._

* * *

"We ran off on our own, until we met these other kids," Kano gestured toward the rest, "and formed a circus!" **(A/N: Obviously, Kano didn't retell the entire story. He probably left out huge chunks. So, you readers get the unedited version. Yay!)**

"You're too loud," Kido groaned. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, before recoiling. "Gah! Why are you so close to my face?!"

"You can't sleep straight, can you?"

"Why do you want to kn- Did I fall asleep on your shoulder again?"

"Yup."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence between the two before Kido punched Kano in the gut, knocking him out. "There, that'll keep him quiet." Then she noticed the others staring at her with a somewhat fearful expression. "What?"

"Nothing!" they said in unison.

* * *

"We will be landing in twenty minutes. Again, we will be landing in twenty minutes." a voice crackled over the intercom.

"Thank God, we're finally off! We've been on here since forever!"

"Twelve hours isn't forever." Shintaro snarked.

Ayano frowned. "Don't be so gloomy! We're on vacation!"

"It's business!" Kido called.

"For one day!" Kano retorted. "After that, we have the rest of the week to relax."

"But what does it matter to you, anyway? You were in the phone the entire time." Shintaro said to Ene.

"But I couldn't do things to annoy you without disturbing the other passengers!"

"Tch."

"Hey." Kido stopped suddenly. "Does anybody here know how to speak English?"

"I thought Ene knew how to, right?" Momo said.

"What gave you that idea? The only words I know are 'Hello', 'Goodbye', and 'computer'!" Ene cried.

"Well, this is bad." Kano grinned.

"I know how to," Hibiya raised his hand.

"Really? You seem like the last person who would learn English." Ayano blurted out before covering her mouth. "I'm sorry! Was that too rude?"

"I lived in America for two years," he said nonchalantly.

"He could be our translator book!" Momo exclaimed. Hibiya glared at her.

"What's with that description?"

"What? It's true, isn't it?"

"There's better ways to say that!" he argued.

"Does America have good food?" Konoha asked randomly and innocently.

"I think so," Ene said thoughtfully. "But, I heard that one place in particular was unhealthy. Max Ronalds? It was probably something like that…"

"What should we do?" he asked.

"We could go to Max Ronalds!" Ene said.

Konoha blinked. "But you just said that it was unhealthy." he pointed out.

"But, I also heard the food was really good!"

"God, it's like you're on mood swings. Are you going or not?" Shintaro rolled his eyes. However, he immediately bumped into a woman. "I-I'm so sorry!" he cried with alarm. "I didn't mean to! Please forgive me!"

"My, aren't you a polite boy," the woman said kindly. "It is quite alright." For some reason, her blue eyes honed in on Hibiya. When Hibiya caught her stare, he glowered back. "Well, have a nice time in America!" she waved and walked away from the group, high heels clacking against the marble floor.

'Why was she staring at me? She's even more of a hag than Momo.' Hibiya thought. 'Actually, she seems to be a bit familiar. Well, she was probably on the flight with us. That woman did speak Japanese.' All these thoughts were running through his mind rapidly.

"Hey, you okay? I can literally hear the gears whirring in your brain."

"Shut up, hag."

"Hey! God, when will you stop calling me that?!"

"How about…" Hibiya feigned to ponder over the question. "Never?"

"Deep breath in, deep breath out. Come on, Momo. Don't let this brat get to you!" Momo was miserably failing at calming down, and had begun to mutter a mantra to control her temper. "C'mon, Momo, you're better than that…"

"Would you look at that. The hag has finally gone insane." Hibiya deadpanned.

"That's it!" At those words, Momo began pulling at Hibiya's cheeks.

"Ow! You hag, stop it!"

"Look!" Ayano pointed to a shop. They could swear that they could see a bright sparkle in her eyes. "It's a scarf boutique!"

"What the heck, there's actually things like that?" Seto said in astonishment.

"Before you know it, there'll be a bed shop~!" Kano threw both his hands up in the air as if to emphasize his point.

"Um, that already exists…It's called a furniture store." Mary chipped in.

"Well, then! This means that the world is running out of ideas!" Kano concluded with a grin.

"No. This means that you're a disgrace to society." Kido said blankly.

"That doesn't make sense…" Kano muttered. "Where are we going, anyway? Who's going to pick us up, and where are we going to stay?"

"Isn't obvious? We get a taxi." Kido took out her wallet, filled with dollar notes they'd exchanged at the airport. "We'll have to call over three taxis. Ene doesn't count for obvious reasons. We get fifteen dollars each."

Momo whistled. "Wow, you got the details all planned out, Kido. That's pretty impressive!"

"It's no big deal," she said modestly. "More importantly, we need to catch a taxi before it gets too dark."

"Why? Are you scared of the monsters at night, _Tsu-bo-mi_?" Kano taunted.

"Shut the hell up!"

* * *

"Woah, this is a really good hotel!" A white building towered over them. Many lights were glowing behind the checkered curtains.

"Death the Kid would've liked this…" Shintaro mumbled.

"Did you say something?" Hibiya asked.

"No, you were just imagining it."

"Oh, are you the circus? We have a special room for large groups such as yours. Here's the key," the receptionist handed Momo said key. "Enjoy your stay!"

On the way to the elevator, Konoha sniffed the air.

"Hey, what's up?" Ene asked, noticing his strange behavior.

"I smell something weird…" He mumbled. "That smell is...chlorine...?"

"Oh my gosh! That means there has to be a pool!" Momo cheered. "Let's go~!"

"Wait! We haven't even gotten to our room yet. We should drop off our stuff." Kido halted her.

"Eh? Tsubomi's not protesting against the idea." Kano noticed curiously.

"Don't call me Tsubomi! And I thought it would be okay if we had a little fun…"

He beamed. "Kido's opening up! I'm so proud of her!"

"Stop talking about me like I'm your daughter!"

"Come to Daddy!"

"Get the hell away from me!"

"Don't be like that, Tsubomi~!"

"Gah." Kido raked her hand through her hair. "Let's just get to our rooms, okay?" They stood in front of the elevator, some - like Shintaro or Momo - tapping their feet impatiently.

_Ding. _The elevators door slid open.

"Let's go!" Momo yelled, before plowing right into another passenger. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't see where I was going." She hastily apologized.

"Don't worry about it." the woman answered breezily.

_Wait. _

"Hey, aren't you the woman from the airport?" Hibiya asked, trying to connect the faces.

She blinked. "Oh yes, I did see this group before, haven't I! It's funny how we keep bumping into one another, isn't it?"

"Quite literally," Ene mumbled from the phone. The woman tilted her head.

"Did someone say something?"

"No, it was just my phone vibrating."

"Well, you may call me Rie."

"We're the Kagerou Circus, nice to meet you, Rie-san!" Momo beamed and held out a hand to shake.

"Oh my, you're a circus? You must be very talented. Maybe I'll drop by to see the show."

Hibiya could've sworn her eyes turned disapproving when Rie-san had been told they were a circus. He dismissed it. '_It was probably just me,' _he thought.

Little did they know, this was not the last time they would meet Rie.

* * *

**I****'m sorry for not updating for a while. BUT. My beta-readers have been editing like crazy, so I have a decent excuse. Kudos to Personality Test~! (That is her actual name. Don't judge.)**


	11. An Ode to Practicing

"_We're the Kagerou Circus, nice to meet you, Rie-san!" Momo beamed and held out a hand to shake. _

"_Oh my, you're a circus? You must be very talented. Maybe I'll drop by to see the show." _

_Hibiya could've sworn her eyes turned disapproving when Rie-san had been told they were a circus. He dismissed it. '_It was probably just me_,' he thought. _

_Little did they know, this was not the last time they would meet Rie._

* * *

"Is everyone practicing right now? They better be, since the show is tomorrow~!" Ene sing-songed with a wide grin.

"It's just juggling. Why should I practice?" Shintaro groused.

"Let's see here," Ene wandered into his phone. "Oh, wow, what is this? A folder named '_Stay out of this, Ene!_', my... I wonder what would happen if it _accident__a__l__ly_ got deleted. It would be a shame, now, wouldn't it?"

"Okay, fine! I'll practice, just spare the data!" He panicked. After plugging the phone into the charger, Shintaro dashed off to the training room.

"Hehehe, works every time."

* * *

"Is that really practicing?" Hibiya pointed a finger at Seto and Mary. The duo were petting the animals and occasionally making flower crowns.

"Uwah~! Seto, look at this one!" Mary cheered, showing him a chain of daisies.

"That's great! Aren't daisies your favorite flower?"

"Yup!"

Kido sighed. "They really don't need any practice, they pretty much aced their act. Actually, most of us did, too. Anyway, you should probably start using actual people instead of dartboards."

"Huh? What the heck does that mean?"

"Professional knife-throwers use actual people for a target, didn't you know?" Kido raised an eyebrow.

"Who do you think I am, a person who randomly goes on the wikipedia to search this stuff up?" Hibiya fired back. Meanwhile in the background, Shintaro flinched.

"Don't use that tone with me," She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, look at that! Ladies and gentlemen, it's Kido's famous death glare! With one chilling look, she will pin you to the spot with those heartless charcoal eyes," Kano narrated. Kido redirected her head so that the 'death glare' was staring straight at him. He gulped.

"A-and, I think I'll take my leave!" he scooted toward the wooden door.

"Nope~! You can't leave yet, practice isn't over!" Ene piped in. If possible, Kano's complexion grew even paler. "If you do…" she didn't finish the sentence, but the menacing silence was more than enough. Kano visibly gulped.

"Hibiya, about the knife-throwing," Kido said in a calm, (yet somewhat frightening) voice. "We could use Kano. Basically, just throw knives at him. I would do that myself if I could, but this is merely for practice."

'_Are you sure about that?' _Hibiya thought.

"Kido-sama! There's no need to go _that _far, right?"

"Calling me 'Kido-sama' will not change my decision. Stand over there or else I'll join practice with Hibiya." she threatened.

Silently, Kano walked over to the space she had indicated.

"So, just throw knives at him?" Hibiya asked uncertainly. "Is that… you know, safe?"

"The point is to give the audience a bit of suspense. You throw the knives so it outlines his body, although I want to plunge multiple sharp objects into his body." Kido murmured the last part quickly, but the others could still hear it clearly.

'_Note to self, never mess around with Kido.' _That was surely what everyone was thinking.

Hibiya hesitantly balanced a knife between his fingers before activating his Eyes. His red eyes were narrowed in concentration. He drew back his arm, and let it loose.

_Thwack_

It had lodged itself right above Kano's head. A few stray hairs were cut off, Kano's face held a very tight grin. Hibiya noticed the red in Kano's eyes. He was probably scared to death and about to faint in reality.

One after one, more knives made their mark around Kano. At one point, a knife had made it's way dangerously close to the target's face. It was then that Kano had finally dropped to the ground.

"I-I see the light," Kano croaked, reaching his hand to the sky.

Kido just sighed. "Mary, just freeze him next time. As much as I enjoy him suffering, I don't want to cause him trauma."

He jumped to his feet. "Thank you, Kido-sama~!" he cried tears of joy. Soon after, he glomped her. "How can I ever repay you!"

"First, get off me, idiot!" she yelled, flustered, slightly shoving him off.

"The pain! I shall see you in heaven!" Kano dramatically said, clutching his shirt. The last thing he saw before blacking out was a green sneaker swinging down on his head.

* * *

"...no…up."

'_Huh? _Kano thought. That was quite an odd sentence.

"Kano, wake up!" A flick on the forehead brought him back to reality.

"Ow! I'm up, I'm up! There's gentler ways to wake up somebody, you know that?" he complained loudly.

"Flicking you on the head seems like an appropriate response after calling your name ten times." Hibiya commented. "Are you deaf or something? She even screamed in your ear and you _still _didn't wake up." Kido nodded in agreement off to the side. She had resumed practing her vansishing act, paying no further attention to the trouble maker.

"Even you, Hibiya? Children these days are so rude." Kano clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"You act more of a child than me, do you freaking realize that?" he snorted. "And blowing a raspberry doesn't help change my mind."

"Oh, really? I thought Shintaro was the child, seeing as he drinks soda in a very strict routine. What was it again? Soda at exactly nine in the morning, some more on two-thirty, and yet another can before you go to sleep." Ene inserted, blatantly mocking Shintaro.

"Why the hell was I dragged into this conversation?! Besides, I drink soda at nine o' two, not nine!" he snapped.

"That is exactly what I mean by 'very strict schedule'." Ene stage-whispered.

"Why is everyone so annoying here!" Shintaro threw his hands above his head.

"Don't throw tantrums, it's very childish!"

"Oh my God, just go away!"

* * *

**Important! Since school is starting up tomorrow, I will not be updating as much. That is all.**


	12. Hibiya's Debut

**Warning: This was not edited, so expect a few mistakes here and there~!**

* * *

Hibiya wasn't sure whether if it was possible for someone to die from nervousness. '_Is this what it means when your heart is beating so loud you think everyone can hear it?' _he thought briefly. His mind redirected his attention to the problem at hand.

Hibiya was going to shrivel up and wither away at any given moment.

Well, not literally. It was the evening of the show and most of the members had already performed. He would be the act that would wrap up the circus show. Hibiya vaguely remembered Kano saying cheerfully, "_It'll be fun, everyone will be focused on you. You'll be our trump card~!" _

Right now, he wished that blond would get run over by a truck. Suddenly, he heard a truck horn blaring, a figure in front of it. A shadow with pigtails and a pink dress. Hibiya groaned, grabbing a fistful of his hair. A headache was not what he needed right now.

"Now, for our next performance! Our new member, Hibiya Amamiya, shall now appear on stage!" he heard Ene yell energetically. Hibiya gulped, forgetting about the strange happenings beforehand.

'_Please God, help me survive this,' _he prayed. Taking a deep breath in, he slowly made his way out of the small room. Step after step. When Hibiya appeared in the entrance, everyone's eyes were focused on him.

* * *

_Flashback~_

"_Pretend that this is a mission, one you need to accomplish." Kido tried to help Hibiya over his stage-fright. He never was brave, like Hiyori. His confidence decreased even more after thinking of her. _

"_Or, pretend that the people are your fans~!" Momo chirped up. "They're cheering you on!"_

_Flashback End~_

* * *

He tried walking briskly, but Hibiya could almost hear his knees knocking together. His arms swung back and forth jerkily. '_This is my first time,' _Hibiya reasoned. '_It's natural to be nervous, right?'_

When Hibiya finally got to the arena, Kido was already waiting against a maroon wall. It was decided that Kano would not be the target, ("_It's not going to be appealing when Kano drops to the ground." Kido said. "I'll do it instead.) _Personally, he thought that Kano was just a wimp.

He had a leather bag slung across his chest. It held his knives, which Hibiya was taking out now. He could almost feel the anticipation in the air. Hibiya's eyes burned red. With his heightened eyesight, he drew back the knife, and flung it at the greenette.

Gasps of shock filled the room. Flicking his crimson eyes to the side, he saw a woman with curly purple(?) hair dialing a number. '_Is she going to call the police?' _he panicked. He did _not _want to have a criminal record when he was only twelve.

"She's still alive!" a genius pointed out. (Note the sarcasm) Hibiya took that as the cue to throw another knife, which was followed by another. In the end, thirty knives outlined Kido's body. She seemed a little pale, but she was holding on pretty well. _Way_ better than Kano, anyway. Kido carefully weaseled out and then bowed. She signaled discreetly for Hibiya to do the same.

"Thanks for watching Kagerou Circus!" they said with practiced unison. With that, the crowd burst into loud cheer. Hibiya felt a flutter of pride in his chest, he actually did this._'Hiyori, are you watching me right now?'_

* * *

"That was the most nerve-wracking thing I ever did." Hibiya grumbled while stuffing his face with food. It was now the 'Let's-Congratulate-Hibiya-For-His-First-Show-Party!'. Or, LCHFHFSP for short.

"You did well, though!" Momo patted him on the back while simultaneously eating a piece of squid-flavored cake.

"The audience liked it," Kido acknowledged.

"You did better than dear Tsubomi here on _her_ first try," Kano snickered. "She disappeared right in the middle of her act! She didn't even come back, just went straight out the door. Of course, no one else knew it was over but..."

"Shut up!" her face was flushed red, whether from anger or embarrassment, Hibiya didn't know.

"Hey, why is a limo pulling up in the hotel driveway?" Shintaro suddenly said, putting down the can of soda he had been chugging down.

"It's not April 1st, no need to pull out the jokes," Ene said, her head adorned with multiple party streamers. "Not that you're particularly funny, but you know what I'm saying."

"No, seriously. Look out the window."

Kido got up from her seat and walked over to the window, before immediately reeling back. "Why the hell is a limousine in the driveway?!" Kido clutched her head. "Did we do something wrong?"

"Now, now. It might be for some other person in this hotel. We're not the only ones who are staying here, remember?" Seto tried to comfort her.

"Yeah! It might not be for us!" Mary chipped in nervously. However, her voice did not seem very convincing.

At this point, everyone had crowded around the window, even Konoha had abandoned the cake. "I don't think limousines are supposed to be parked next to our van," Konoha said slowly.

"A coincidence?" Mary wrung her hands together.

The door opened to the limo and a blonde lady stepped out. "Isn't that Rie-san?" Ayano asked curiously.

"It is," Hibiya stated, using his Eyes. "Why the heck is she here? How did she even know where our hotel is? Is she a stalker?"

"That's rude!" Momo lightly smacked him on the back of his head.

"Stop that, you hag!"

"Stop that, you shrimp!" Momo mocked.

"Shut up, you two!" Shintaro was pretty anxious, and the pair weren't making it go away.

"She's in the building!" Ene reported. "Now she's asking the desk person, what do you call them again, where the…" she faltered.

"What?" Kido demanded. She looked genuinely frightened.

"Where the Kagerou Circus is…" she said softly.

"Are you sure she said that?" Kano's voice gave away his inner turmoil.

"The cameras here are top-notch!" the cyber girl snapped.

_Knock knock. _

"Do we open the door?" Konoha said with an urgent undertone. "I could chase them away."

"Open up! If you don't, I will break down the door!" A voice thundered intimidatingly.

"Konoha, go open the door and ask them what they want." Kido shakily pointed her finger towards the door. "If they have weapons, knock them out. Please."

Konoha made his way towards the door, his usual lax posture was now stiff. He gripped the doorknob before swinging it open. To his slight satisfaction, he heard the something (or someone) slam against the door.

"Be careful!" A burly man in a business suit was glaring at the boy. He had a thick American accent. Behind the man, stood Rie in all her glory.

"Hello, quite nice to meet you all again." she smiled as if nothing was wrong. She started toward the door before Konoha blocked her way.

"Please tell me what business you have here," he said.

Her smile hardened by a fraction. "Let us in," she made another motion for the door.

"What do you want?" Konoha said a bit more harshly.

"Alvin!" Rie snapped her fingers. 'Alvin' charged at him. However, the bodyguard was not expecting for the skinny white-haired boy to judo-flip _him,_ a two hundred and thirty pound man, over his shoulder. Alvin skidded across the hotel room, the members scurrying out of the path.

"Alvin?" Rie seemed uncertain. He was lying with his face facing the ceiling. It was safe to say that Alvin would not be waking up for several hours. Her usually beautiful face turned into a furious glare. "How dare you!" she screeched.

"How dare _you_!" Kido spoke up. She was still pale, but had managed to stand her ground. "You ordered your bodyguard to attack our friend!"

"Unless it is a custom in America to try and tackle people, I believe that is extremely rude." Ayano said firmly, hands on her hips. "And I am not that stupid to think it is a custom."

"And she used to get a 40% average on her tests at school," Shintaro added unhelpfully.

"Shintaro! You just ruined the mood!" Ayano exclaimed.

"No matter, there are other ways to do this." Rie huffed, before pulling out a gun. Everyone stood still, eyes widening in shock. "Now don't move, or I'll shoot. I'm not bluffing!" she warned.

"U-um!" Mary spoke up. Rie looked her way with a raised eyebrow, cocking her gun slightly. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked quickly, the phrase was almost incomprehensible.

"For what ex-" Rie froze in mid sentence, the weapon dropping to the ground with a _clunk._ Everyone looked toward the shy girl, her eyes still glowing a slight shade of red. Kano broke the silence.

"Well, time to dump these guys outside, yeah?"

"Because hauling people outside is totally normal." Hibiya rolled his eyes.

"Who said we're dumping them out the door? Doors are for uncreative people, don't you think?"

"We're not going to throw them out the window, Kano." Seto forced a grin onto his face. His red eyes were slightly glaring at Kano.

"Just a suggestion, don't get so mad over it! You people are so serious!"

"W-what are we going to do with them?" Mary nudged Alvin with her foot. "We can't just leave them here, right? We could get in trouble, or even go to j-jail!"

"Well, this is quite the dilemma…" Momo pondered, stroking her invisible beard.

"Quit it, hag. You're not looking any smarter."

"Kido, can you hide the presence of the...the bodies?" Momo avoided the insult and instead addressed Kido. "God, we sound like criminals," she said as an afterthought.

"I could. I could also dampen the presence of the ones who are going to dispose of them."

"Well, I'll take the trash out!" Kano pushed up his sleeves. "Let's go~!"

* * *

Luckily, nobody got caught holding Rie and Alvin, (although in Alvin's case, it was more dragging than holding) After searching through their pockets, they came up with the keys to the limo.

"Are you sure we can't keep the limo?" Shintaro whined.

"Wouldn't it be suspicious if a circus was driving around a limousine?" Kido gave him a flat look.

After that, Ene had gotten control of the car, which apparently was a hybrid that ran on electricity, and had gotten them far, far away from the Kagerou Circus.

"Mission accomplished~!" Kano danced around. Well, to be more accurate, he was jumping up and down while making strange movements with his arms.

"They aren't going to come back, are they?" Seto asked worriedly.

"If they do, we'll just sick Konoha on them. God, the look on that buff guy's face was hilarious when Konoha beat him up!" Kano cackled. He had stopped 'dancing' and sat back down on the couch, his arms and legs taking up all the space. Shintaro, who also had been laying on the couch, grunted in protest.

"Why do you weigh so much when you're skinny as a stick?" he said.

Kano laughed. "Kido's cooking is the best, you know~!"

* * *

**I'm sorry. School is hard. I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible, therefore it is not edited.**

**BTW, this is not the end of Rie. You know, just saying. Honestly, I'm not that bad of an author to throw out a villain after ten minutes of action time. Also, did you notice that Kuroha is one of only villians who got killed off after ten minutes of his debut in the anime? (God, the anime could have been so much better. Ayano's Theory of Happiness; the animation is still giving me nightmares.)**


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